Return to Mook Island
by Brainyxbat
Summary: Timon and friends investigate an island that is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a mad scientist. To Timon, the island is quite familiar, but he can't put his finger on it. Base on the TaP episode "Mook Island."


**Return to Mook Island**

 _Ch. 1_

Summary: Timon and friends investigate an island that is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a mad scientist. To Timon, the island is quite familiar, but he can't put his finger on it.

* * *

Timon Berkowitz was laying on the couch, browsing TV channels while trying to find something interesting. He fought back a yawn, as he wasn't having any luck.

"… reported to be haunted…" He heard from the news channel, but he changed it.

"Wait!" He quickly changed it back to the news, where the story was still being told. His eyes widened in shock, not to mention curiosity, as he heard the story.

"Our team visited this uncharted island, appropriately named "Screwloose Island," and while they were there, they brought back evidence that it's haunted by a mad scientist, and his unfortunate experiments that went horribly wrong."

"Whoa," Timon breathed out in awe, before furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Wait, Screwloose? That sounds kinda familiar to me."

"What does?" Shenzi's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He whipped around, and saw his girlfriend standing there, looking confused.

"Oh, hey Shen; Just watch this news story." She turned her attention to the TV, and listened carefully.

"The evidence included strange noises, EMF meters going off, orbs shown only on camera, creepy shadows, and strange voices they recorded."

"Wow," Shenzi breathed out in awe, "What are they talking about?"

"This island that's said to be haunted," Timon told her, "It's called "Screwloose Island", and for some reason, the name Screwloose sounds familiar to me."

"Does it? Well, it doesn't really ring a bell for me," Shenzi shrugged, "I wish I could help you with that."

"Thanks Shen," Timon smiled at her, before an idea popped in his head. "Wait… didn't Fred receive some ghost-hunting equipment from his cousin recently?"

"Yeah, why?" The Goth nodded.

"I know where that island is, even though I can't remember what's on it," Timon explained, "Why don't we go investigate it?"

"Ooh, that sounds fun!" Shenzi smiled, "Let's do it!"

* * *

"So, what do you say, guys?" Timon asked their friends, "And can we use your new equipment, Fred?"

"I'm in!" Fred exclaimed excitedly, "And sure we can!"

"Thanks," Timon smiled, "What about the rest of you?"

"I, I'll go," Evie shyly said, "I'll try to get over my fear of ghosts. Plus, I think my tech skills would help."

"I will too," Cosmo decided.

"Me too!" Tatiana exclaimed.

"I'll go!" Alika piped up, "I've always wanted to hunt for ghosts."

"I'll go," Monti shrugged, "I don't believe in ghosts, but…"

"What?!" Fred cut him off in an incredulous tone, "How can you not believe in ghosts?!"

"Here we go," Shenzi rolled her eyes.

"I just don't think they're real," Monti shrugged, clearly showing that he was the mature one out of the two.

"They are real!" Fred retorted.

"Are not!" Monti yelled, taking his maturity away.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"STOP IT!" Shenzi screamed, effectively stopping their argument, "We can't do the investigation if you two are constantly arguing, so quit it, alright?"

"Okay," Monti nodded.

* * *

"Okay, let's go over everything we'll need," Timon decided, after Fred set all his gear in front of him. "Cameras?"

"Check."

"Voice recorders?"

"Check."

"Flashlights?"

"Checkamundo!" Fred exclaimed.

"Don't do that," Timon rolled his eyes at him.

"My bad."

"Anywho, extra batteries?"

"Check."

"EMF meter?"

"Check."

"What's an EMF meter?" Tatiana asked them.

"You see, any presence or movement of ghosts might disrupt or otherwise affect the field," Timon explained, "So we'll be able to detect them."

"Ohhh, okay."

"Thermal scanner?"

"Got it."

"What's the thermal scanner gonna do to help?" Evie piped up.

"I'll explain on the way," The male redhead told her, "Anyway, motion sensors?"

"Got 'em."

"Flashlight bands for on our heads?"

"Got all of them."

"Laptops?"

"Check."

"Video input adapters?"

"Got 'em."

"Walkie talkies?"

"Got 'em all."

"Okay, we're good to go!" Timon exclaimed happily, as Evie zipped the black duffle bag shut, after she stashed their tools in it. "Let's get Vitawny and Uncle Max, and convince them to join us."

"You sure this is a good idea?" Nina, Timon's mother, asked them. She was tagging along with them, but she was planning on staying outside, at their soon-to-be-arranged base camp. She was going to watch the cameras that the kids were going to put up in various areas of the island, and use walkie-talkies to report anything she sees or hears.

"We'll be alright, Ma," Timon assured her, "Trust me; We'll be fine."

"Well… alright," Nina decided, "But _please_ be careful, Timmy. I wouldn't want any ghosts to hurt you. Any of you."

"I'll be careful," Timon nodded, "We all will. Okay, let's get Vitawny and Uncle Max."

* * *

"Absolutely not!" Max exclaimed, after Timon told him and Vitawny their situation. The latter agreed to join them.

"Come on, Uncle Max!" He insisted, "It'll be fun!"

"How is getting surrounded by ghosts on a creepy island fun?" Max raised an eyebrow at his nephew.

"The suspense!" Timon told him, "The excitement! We'll be discovering something big! We could be famous!"

"… It's not worth it," The older meerkat decided.

Timon sighed heavily, and rolled his eyes in annoyance at his uncle's stubbornness. "Can you help me out here, Vitawny?"

"Okay," She nodded, before turning to Max. "You won't go with us?"

"Nope," He shook his head.

"Okay then," She shrugged, "I guess I'll have to search all by my lonesome self. With no help, no protection, no anything."

Max stayed silent for a few seconds, before speaking up. "Alright, I'll go," He decided, "But only because I want to protect Vitawny."

"Aww, thanks Max," She smiled, before she kissed his cheek.

"No prob," He smiled back at his girlfriend.

"Okay, let's get to it!" Timon exclaimed, as he lifted up the bag, and the group headed out the door.

* * *

"You want to do _what?_ " The captain of a tour boat raised his eyebrows in shock.

"We want to go to Screwloose Island, to investigate it," Timon explained again, "To see if it's haunted, like the team on the news did."

"I got dragged into this," Max piped up, before his nephew elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt in pain.

"So, can you take us there?" Timon asked the captain.

"Well, you sure you all want to go?" He asked them, "Because that island is pretty dangerous, ever since that mad scientist's death. The first team said that even his psychotic laugh can be heard in the lab. They only heard it in one of their recorders."

"I'm outta here!" Max piped up, before turning to run away, but Timon grabbed him around his stomach, and pulled him back.

"We're sure we want to," Monti told him, "We'll be alright."

"Well, okay then," The captain nodded, "But a little warning: It's said that even his crazy experiments haunt the island. Some may even still be alive."

"See ya!" Max piped up again, before turning to run away, but Timon pulled him back yet again.

"Stop that, Uncle Max," He told him, before turning to the captain. "He's just nervous."

"Then how come he's going with you guys?" He asked him.

"He wants to protect his girlfriend here," Timon nodded towards Vitawny, who nodded in confirmation.

"Ah," He nodded, "Good boyfriend there, miss."

"Thanks," Vitawny smiled.

"Alright, I'll take you," He told them all, "Hop in." He stepped in the moderately large boat.

"Thanks," Timon smiled, as he stepped in, still holding onto Max to keep him from escaping again. Shenzi stepped in after her boyfriend, as Vitawny, Nina, Cosmo, Evie, Fred, Tatiana, Alika, and Monti followed closely, with Evie carrying the bag of supplies. Thankfully Pimon wasn't with them; They had kept their mouths shut around him, so he never figured out what they were up to. Although Evie had to keep Cosmo quiet.

"Let's do thi-i-i-i-is!" Fred yelled excitedly, drawing out the vowel in "this" dramatically, as the boat started moving.

* * *

"There it is, right over there," The captain pointed to the island, where there were lightning flashing and storm clouds hovering over it.

"Whoa," Timon breathed out in awe, "Okay, now I _know_ I've been to that island before. But I still can't remember who or what lives there."

"Did you?" The captain asked him, "Well, it'll come to you, when we get there."

"I think it will," Timon nodded.

* * *

"Here we are!" The captain announced to the passengers, as he carefully stopped the boat.

"Whoo!" Fred cheered, as the others, except Max and a nervous Nina, followed his lead. Max's eyes widened and he flinched harshly upon seeing lightning, and hearing booming thunder.

"Welp, have fun! Let me know how it goes!" He turned to sit back on one of the seats, but Timon grabbed his hand, and practically dragged him on the sandy shore, as the others followed them.

"We've gotta stick together, Uncle Max," Timon told him, before turning to the captain, "We won't be long, hopefully."

"Right," He nodded, "I'll wait right here for you all to come back."

"Thanks," Evie smiled, as she lifted the heavy bag up with a struggle, "Come on, guys! Let's go investigate!"

"Wait!" Cosmo stopped her little sister, "It's best that we wait until it's pitch black out. That's when ghosts are most active."

"Oh joy," Max mumbled, but he was still audible. It was late evening, so the nighttime was coming fairly quickly.

"While we wait, why don't we set up the cameras in the lab, and in the forest?" Timon suggested.

"Good idea," Monti nodded, as Evie set the bag down, and unzipped it. Nina took out the two laptops, turned them on, and plugged in the video input adapters in each of them. Thanks to Evie's impressive computer skills, they were able to show what the cameras were recording, without having to plug them in. "Okay crew, let's set 'em up," Monti took out a camera, as some of the others did as well. There were a total of 8 cameras; The plan was, they were going to set one up at the shore, two in the forest, one at the gate, and four in the lab.

After finishing their discussion of camera placements, the group walked off to set them up.

* * *

Timon, Monti, Vitawny, and Max headed for the gate, each carrying a camera, so they can set them up in the huge, castle-like laboratory. But they skidded to a stop when the gate opened by itself, and the drawbridge suddenly came down right in front of them, almost squishing their feet.

"Wh-who did that?" Vitawny stuttered out.

"N-not me," Monti mumbled, a bit scared as well.

Max's big, brown eyes widened, as he slowly turned around to run for his life, but Timon saw him out of the corner of his eye, and turned him back forward, with Max cringing in fear.

"Come on gang, let's set up these cameras," Timon told them, as he walked through the gate, with the others hesitantly following. Vitawny had to practically drag Max with her.

* * *

"I can't believe I let myself get talked into this…" Max had reluctantly agreed to set up one of the four cameras in the lab, while Timon, Monti, and Vitawny were setting up the other three. In the forest, Shenzi was setting up one of the cameras, with Evie and Cosmo close by, in case she needed any assistance. "I swear Timon Berkowitz, if a ghost kills me, I'm blaming you," He grumbled to himself.

He reached up, and just when he placed the camera up on a high shelf, he felt something, or some _one_ , tap on his shoulder. He flinched badly, almost knocking the camera down, as his shoulders shot up to his ears, standing stalk-still, before he slowly turned around, his eyes squeezed shut in fear. He hesitantly opened one eye, but they both opened widely when he saw huge, but slightly skinny meerkats with grey fur, black hair, black noses, and small, empty eyes.

"Ho-holy-!" Max stuttered, before he let out a loud scream of fear.

* * *

Alika and Fred were setting up a camera at the lab gate, by setting it snug in a tree. Just as they finished, they heard a loud scream coming from the lab. After stiffening in fear, they ran in the lab to find Timon, Shenzi, Vitawny, and Max, to make sure they were okay.

Somewhere in the lab, Timon, Monti, Shenzi, and Vitawny had just finished setting up the second-to-last camera, when they heard a loud scream coming from another room, far away. After glancing at each other in fear, they made a run for it to find Max. Outside, Nina was watching the cameras that were currently set up, when she heard the scream, but it was almost inaudible from where she was.

* * *

Max stared at the creatures in shock, as they stared back at him, before he tried to make a run for it. But unfortunately for him, they were faster; Before he could exit the room, one of the creatures grabbed him around his left ankle, and lifted him up, so he was upside down with his arms and long-ish grey hair hanging. His heart pounded hard in his chest when he was surrounded. "P-please don't eat me!" He begged, quivering with fear as he squeezed his eyes shut.

When he felt one of them breathing on his face, possibly sniffing him, his hands clenched into fists as a little whimper escaped from his mouth. He cautiously opened one eye, but when he saw one of their faces close to his, he squeezed them shut again, but tighter. But when he felt one of them sniffing his ribs, an involuntary smirk grew on his face. The huge meerkat saw his reaction, and he, along with the rest of them, became curious. He sniffed at his ribs again, and Max unintentionally gave him the same reaction. Out of curiosity, the one holding him raised his free hand up, and gently poked the older meerkat's pudgy tummy. Max let out some helpless giggles, as he sucked in his tummy.

"P-please dohon't!" He giggled, "I'm v-very ticklish!" Unfortunately for him, just after he said that, the huge meerkats looked even more curious, as if he was speaking a foreign language. They then smiled, as if they enjoyed his "positive" reaction, aka him smiling and laughing, before they got even closer to him.

"Uh oh," He muttered to himself. ' _You'd think I'd learn by now,_ ' He thought, as he cautiously watched their every move.

* * *

Elsewhere in the lab, Fred and Alika were frantically searching for Max, before they bumped into Timon, Monti, Shenzi, and Vitawny.

"Did you guys hear that scream?" Timon asked them all.

"Uh huh!" Alika nodded, "Where's Max?"

"I, we don't know!" Vitawny stammered on her words nervously. "We have to find him! He could be hurt!"

* * *

Max was still hanging upside down, as the monstrous meerkats were staring at him, like they wanted to eat him. It was as if the ticklish poking softened him up. But to his dismay, the meerkat in front of him started lightly tickling his belly with only his index finger.

"Ehehehehehehehe!" Max burst into a fit of giggles, as he tried to suck it in again, but the meerkat just followed his movements. When he felt the creature holding him tickle his left foot, his giggles slightly increased, as he started squirming and wiggling his toes. "St-stohohop ihihihit!" He giggled when he felt his slim ribs being tickled, "Stohohohohohop!"

When he felt one meerkat behind him tickle his back near his left side, curious about his stripes that they all lacked, he let out a loud yelp, effectively surprising them all, and making them stop. Max panted, as he watched their every move, staying cautious about the one behind him. "Pu-put me down," He panted, "P-please! I've had enough!"

And for the first time, they actually spoke; But what puzzled him was, they were just saying "Mook" repeatedly.

"Uh…" He drew out in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed, "Did you just call me a mook?" He received the same response. "Is "mook" all you guys can say?" To his surprise, they nodded at his question. "You can understand me?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise, and they nodded again. "We-well, can you put me down, and stop tickling me?" He tried to ask them, but to his dismay, they shook their heads, and came closer to him. "Oh God," He muttered to himself, as he tensed up all over his little body.

* * *

The group were still on the lookout for the missing meerkat. It felt like the lab was a huge maze; They felt lost. "We'll never find him!" Fred exclaimed.

"Don't say that!" Monti ordered, "We'll find him."

"Wait," Timon piped up, silencing everyone, "You guys hear something?" The group stayed silent, listening for any sounds. A few seconds they heard something: Laughing.

"Who's laughing?" Shenzi wondered aloud quietly.

"I know that laughter anywhere," Timon remarked.

"Who? Who is it?" Vitawny asked him.

"It's Uncle Max!" Timon smiled, "He's alright!"

"That's good," Vitawny sighed in relief, "We just have to follow the sound of him laughing! Come on!" She broke into a run, as the others followed.

"If Uncle Max is laughing in a creepy place like this, then we _definitely_ need to find him," Timon muttered to himself.

* * *

"Stohohohohohohohop! P-pleheheheheheahahahahase!" Max begged, as he was tickled yet again. The one in front alternated between his belly and ribs, while the one holding him was tickling his quivering back. Tears came in his eyes when he tried to protect himself with his arms; They were pulled back up, or down by another meerkat behind him, before his now-exposed armpits were attacked. ' _Why me?!_ ' He thought, as he laughed hysterically, and squirmed desperately, ' _Why always me?! Why am I so much fun to tickle? Why?! Why, why, WHY?!_ '

When he felt the tickling stop, a small wave of relief washed over him, as he started panting; But only a second later, when he felt the meerkat's index fingers run up, or down his quivering sides, he twitched violently, and let out a loud yelp, that almost sounded like a shriek. The creatures were surprised again, but instead of leaving him alone, they started tickling him again; Only this time, his belly, ribs, back, sides, hips, and armpits were targeted. "GYAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Max screamed, as he squirmed wildly, and tears fell out of his eyes, "QUIT IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIT! PLEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHASE! WHYHYHYHYHYHYHY MEHEHEHEHEHE?! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He tried to protect himself with his arms again, but the fingers in his sensitive armpits prevented that.

When only his sides, hips, and armpits were tickled, he was completely hysterical, as tears soaked his cheeks. "STOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOP! PLEHEHEHEHEHEAHAHAHASE!" He begged, as his quivering sides were poked at. "OHOHOHOHO GOHOHOHOHOHOD! SOHOHOHOMEBOHOHOHODYHYHYHY HEHEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" He shrieked as loudly as he could, although he doubted that his dialogue could be understood. When another meerkat started poking at his belly and hips, he was practically crying with laughter.

"Uncle Max?" A familiar voice made him open his tear-filled eyes, and to his joy, he saw Timon! And the rest of the gang too!

"TIHIHIHIMOHOHOHON! THAHAHAHAHANK GOHOHOHOHOHOD! HEHEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHEHEHE!" Max wailed, as the creatures gently poked his squirming sides and twitching hips.

"So _they're_ what I saw on the island!" Timon exclaimed in realization, "They're from the crazy scientist that Frankensteined me!"

When Max saw the creatures let their tongues out, he went into full panic mode. " **NOOOHOHOHOHOHO! NO, NO, NOHOHOHOHOHO! PLEHEHEHEHEAHAHAHASE DOHOHOHOHOHON'T!** " He begged, as he wiggled frantically.

"Hey, hey fellas!" Timon yelled out, getting their attention away from a now heavily panting Max. "Remember me?" They stared down at him, before memories finally hit them; He was who he, since they shared DNA, claimed to be their father!

"You know them?" Shenzi asked her boyfriend.

"Uh huh," He nodded at her, "We share DNA whatevers, so technically, I'm their father." She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Li-like father like son," Max remarked, since he heard his statement, "Or whatever they are."

"Also fellas, that meerkat you're holding there?"

"GYAAAHAHAHAHA!" Max laughed hard when one of them poked his side for clarification, as he finally covered himself with his arms.

"Yeah him," Timon nodded, "He's my uncle Max, so to be honest… he's your great-uncle." The large meerkats stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. "Put him down," He gently commanded, and the one holding Max set him on his back on the floor. "You alright?" He asked his uncle after running up to him.

"Y-yeah, I guess," Max panted, as he rubbed his tingling sides, "They, they were t-tickling me for, for who knows how long!"

"I saw," Timon nodded, before he helped him stand up, "I hate to sound unconcerned, but did you put up that camera?"

"Y-yeah, I did," Max nodded as he held onto his nephew for support. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, if all the cameras are up, we can go to base camp, and wait until it's dark out," Monti shrugged.

"But… what do we do about them?" Timon looked up at the meerkat clones, "We can't just leave them here."

"Hmm… we have a pretty big, empty backyard, don't we?" Shenzi wondered aloud.

"Yeah, why?" Timon asked her, before he caught on, "Wait, are you saying we're gonna keep them at home?" Max's eyes widened in horror; He hated to be selfish, but if the clones stayed with them, he'll be tickled until he's driven to insanity! Again!

"Uh huh," Shenzi shrugged, "It's better than abandoning them."

"Yeah," Vitawny agreed.

"Um, i-if they stay with us, can you tell them to not tickle me anymore?" Max asked his nephew.

"I'll see what I can do," Timon told him.

"Thanks," The grey-haired meerkat smiled with relief. But that relief was swept away when he felt one of the meerkats tickle his back, and right side. "Gyaaahahahahahaha!" He burst out laughing, before he jumped away, and gave him a death glare. "Stop it!"

"Yeah fellas, he's had enough," Timon agreed, as he stood in front of his uncle for defense, "Leave him alone." When the clones stood still, Max took it as a good sign, and relaxed.

"Okay guys, follow us!" Shenzi exclaimed, before she led the group, plus the clones, through the lab, and out the door.

"Where are we taking them?" Timon asked her quietly.

"To the pier," She shrugged, "And possibly base camp."

"Um, y-you sure that's a good idea?" He became nervous, "You sure they won't hurt Ma?"

"Well, um," Shenzi hesitated, "Oh, I know! How about we all take shifts to stay there with her? Like you go first, then Max, then whoever else volunteers?"

"That could work," Timon smiled, "Let's do it."

* * *

Nina gazed around at her surroundings, while waiting for her son, brother-in-law, and their friends to come back; She looked ahead in front, and she jumped and gasped sharply at the sight of 20 large meerkats! She was able to calm down (somewhat) when she saw the group of friends in front of them.

"Hey, Ma!" Timon smiled, as they walked up to her.

"Wh-who are your new friends?" She stuttered nervously.

"Um, they're- I uh, they're uh," Timon tried to come up with an explanation, but none came to his mind, "I'll explain later; They're gonna stay here at base camp, and we're all going to take shifts to make sure they don't do anything stupid."

"Well, o-okay," She nodded, "But when you start, you all be careful, okay?"

"We will," Alika nodded. "But for now, we're going to stay here until it's pitch black out," Monti told her, "That's when ghosts are most active."

"Alright," Nina nodded, before she saw Max looking way more wiped out than the others. "Max, are you okay? You look exhausted."

"Yeah," He nodded, "It's just that… those big guys there were tickling the heck out of me earlier."

"O-oh," Nina tried not to giggle. ' _Max never gets a break, does he?_ ' She thought to herself.

"Aahahahehehe!" Max flinched and burst into giggles, when he felt one of the clones tickling his back. He turned around, and glared at them again. "I thought you were told to stop!" He was ignored however, as he was carefully pushed on his back, and his arms were pulled away (although not held down), before the offending clone tickled his belly and ribs with all its fingers. "Aahahahahahahaehehehehe!" Max burst into giggles again, as he wiggled and squirmed to try to escape. "Stohohop ihihihit!"

"Guys! Hey guys, guys!" Timon yelled out to the mooks, before they turned to him, the one still tickling Max. "I told you to leave him alone! Quit tickling him!" The one obeyed the redhead's command and raised his hand up, so Max covered himself, and dashed away.

"So, now we just wait," Max sat on the ground, keeping a safe distance away from the mooks.

* * *

 **(A/N: I was inspired to write this after watching the TaP episode mentioned in the summary; Especially after imagining the mooks tickling Max. XD None of the characters belong to me, except Vitawny, and I guess the boat captain. The 2nd chapter will be inspired by The Othersiders. And by the way, the quote "I got dragged into this" is said by Andre in the Victorious episode "Tori Fixes Beck and Jade", and the quotes "I'm outta here!" and "See ya!" were said by Josh in the Drake & Josh episode "Paging Dr. Drake.")**


End file.
